TakingITGlobal

25 un h A BiTAT hT TP:// unh A BiTAT.yOu ThMOV EMEnT s.Org Our Youth Movements program was honoured to partner more deeply with the United Na ons Human Se lements Program (UN-HABITAT), developing an expanded version of the mapping pla orm to provide real- me tracking and knowledge-sharing amongst the youth-led projects funded by the UN Habitat Youth Fund using a unique mobile- repor ng pla orm. This pla orm is focused on capturing relevant social media updates as a form of impact repor ng for youth led projects in the developing world. A total of 245 projects added 1100 text, photo, and video updates through this enhanced youth-friendly repor ng mechanism. n ATiOn A L CA MPA ign On MEnTA L hE A LTh hT TP:// w w w.Tigw EB.Org/ TigEd/PrOjEC T s/MEnTA LhE A LTh Let's Talk Health was a na onal video conference and campaign held over 15 weeks from February 24th un l June 6th, 2014. TakingITGlobal partnered with the Centre for Global Educa on, the Charitable Impact Founda on, and the Canadian Educa on Forum. Classes of junior and senior high school students of all disciplines were recruited from across Canada to take part in the campaign. Par cipa ng classes joined in two online video conferences in the Spring and Summer. Following the first conference, each class promoted the importance of mental health in their school and chose a mental health charity to support through awareness and fundraising for the rest of the campaign. Classes raised funds online through the Giving Group dona on pla orm offered by the Charitable Impact Founda on, and the money raised was matched through the Canadian Educa on Forum. One of the strengths of this program is its interdisciplinary nature. It can be easily adapted to fit a range of classes and grade levels. The following diagram shows some of the curriculum connec ons between the par cipa ng schools and the courses linked to their involvement with the campaign. A program of In partnership with Let's Talk Mental Health National Video Conference and Campaign 4 Future Recommendations: "It was definitely curriculum connections that got us started." (Teacher, ON) It's important to stress to educators and administrators that this type of campaign is well suited to both an extra curricular project for a student interest group and one that can be fully integrated into an academic course. There are certain classes that have more curriculum connections (like a junior high Language Arts class, or high school Physical Education class) but teachers of almost any subject will find elements of the curriculum that are suited to this type of experience. The only caveat is that in order for teachers to make most of this type of opportunity, they need ample time to plan for it. Photo of students with a question at Banting and Best Public School they couldn't wait to ask Mental Health Conference and Campaign Report: June 2014 Chimp and the Canadian Education Forum Conference and Campaign was a 15 week program that June 6 th , 2014. As a collaboration between Education, the Charitable Impact Foundation (Chimp) and the objectives of the initiative were: students from across Canada to take part in the campaign video conferences on March 25 th and May 28 th , 2014 class promote the importance of mental health in their charity to support through awareness and fundraising Group donation platform offered by Chimp raised through the Canadian Education Forum from the project, to map out the curriculum give an account of what the schools did to raise money 1 Prepared by TakingITGlobal for Chimp and the Canadian Education Forum Introduction The Let's Talk Mental Health National Video Conference and Campaign was a 15 week program that started the week of February 24 th and ran until June 6 th , 2014. As a collaboration between TakingITGlobal (TIG), the Centre for Global Education, the Charitable Impact Foundation (Chimp) and the Canadian Education Forum, the overarching objectives of the initiative were: • Recruit classes of junior or senior high students from across Canada to take part in the campaign • Offer participating classes two online video conferences on March 25 th and May 28 th , 2014 • Following the first conference, have each class promote the importance of mental health in their school and choose a mental health charity to support through awareness and fundraising activities for the rest of the campaign • Have classes utilize the online Giving Group donation platform offered by Chimp • Reward students through matching funds raised through the Canadian Education Forum This report aims to delineate the lessons learned from the project, to map out the curriculum connections that fostered participation, and to give an account of what the schools did to raise money during the campaign. The conference facilitator and a teacher from Major General Griesbach. Fundraising Strategies: This section will briefly detail the actions taken by the participants in the campaign. Major General Griesbach School (AB) Hats on for Mental Health. This initiative raised almost $500 (this includes the matched funds from Chimp). The group's goal was to involve all the students in the school, from kindergarten to grade nine, with the older students passing on tips to the younger ones. To this end, the group created unique bulletin boards with information about mental health for the elementary students of the school. The group expressed their desire to continue spreading awareness about mental health throughout the year and beyond. Central Algoma Secondary School (ON) Mental Health Week. This was part of an ongoing fundraiser for the mental health charity, Do It for Darren. One of the main fundraisers was a ball hockey tournament where spectators could pay money to leave class and watch the game. The class also put on presentations about different mental health issues in the courtyard of their school to spread awareness to their fellow students. The group also spoke about initiatives like bringing in speakers and a therapy dog into their school. The group has raised close to $1000.00 including matching funds from the Canadian Education Forum. Recommendations for future fundraising endeavours: most part, our students will donate money to get out of class for any cause…" (Teacher, ON) involvement, especially at higher grade levels, can be a tricky issue and some of the educators participating in the campaign had some great advice to pass on. One teacher commented that students more likely to get involved and donate "if they feel passionate and connected to the event." One of goals of the program was to have students choose the mental health charity after looking into different organizations they could support. This gave the students ownership over the campaign. They also given the autonomy to decide how to support the campaign. recommendation was to have students "understand the connection to the school and their This is particularly timely suggestion as there is a nationwide effort to integrate the importance of health into more aspects of school life. Participants in the program can also try tweaking existing fundraisers to fit the theme of mental health. One teacher explained, "In the past, we have used our hockey tournaments to raise funds for our Athletics program so it wasn't a hard sell to divert funds year. Our staff joined in when they saw how passionate our students were and their donation was from a pre existing "Dress Down Friday" staff activity." Lastly, and pragmatically, students are more get involved "if the donation is affordable and students are reminded of the event in advance as are so many things happening." Lessons Learned from Registration & Engagement final video conference was a terrific way to spotlight the students' hard work over the course of the campaign. There were a total of six schools in attendance; this represents only a small fraction of the number of invitations that were sent out across the country. The recruitment process leveraged network of educators and the network of the Centre for Global Education. As well, specific organizations and individuals were targeted when there was an indication of potentially aligning interests. For example, a school in Toronto advertised an upcoming mental health night on its website. invitation was extended to the school to join the campaign. educators who participated or expressed an interest in the campaign, were given the opportunity to comment on factors that contributed to, or hindered, their participation. Fully registered: These are the schools that registered with the intention of fully participating in all aspects of the campaign. It should be noted that schools were also given the chance to watch a recorded version of the video conference but still take Language Arts Curriculum connections One of the strengths of this program is its interdisciplinary nature. It can be easily adapted to fit a range of classes and grade levels. The following diagram shows some of the curriculum connections between the participating schools and the courses linked to their involvement with the campaign. Central Algoma Major General Griesbach Queen Elizabeth Glen Park Public School Timberbank Public School Banting and Best Public School The following chart outlines some of the curriculum objectives met by participating in the campaign. Course/ grade Specific outcomes or expectations met by participating in program CALM (AB) Grade 10 12 • evaluate choices and combinations of choices that can create barriers to achieving and maintaining health, and identify actions to improve health • determine practices and behaviours that contribute to optimal physical well being • develop and assess strategies for anticipating, identifying, managing and embracing change Health (ON) Grade 8 *The outcome is very similar in the Alberta curriculum • demonstrate an understanding of linkages between mental illness and problematic substance use, and identify school and community resource that can provide support for mental health concerns relating to substance use, addictions, and related behaviours Phys. Ed (ON) Grade 11 • describe the characteristics of an emotionally health person (e.g, positive self concept, ability to manage stress effectively, ability to work productively) • demonstrate skills that enhance personal mental health (e.g coping strategies for stress management) • analyse the factors that influence the mental health of individuals and lead to prevalence of mental health problems in the community • describe the impact of mental disorders on a person's emotional CALM Phys. ED Civics Health

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